June Angela is an actress, singer, and dancer best known as Julie, the mainstay member of the Short Circus in the PBS children's television series The Electric Company during its entire six-year run.

The Short Circus

As Julie, Angela appeared in more first-run episodes of The Electric Company than any other member of the Short Circus. Since the The Electric Company consists of diverse cast members, Angela is the sole person of Asian ancestry to be on the show. Prior to auditioning as a member of the Short Circus, the producers had in mind of black, white and Hispanic children for the roles. Angela's agent convinced the producers to let her audition. Angela practically grew up on the show, starting at age 11; she was 17 when production ceased in 1977. Angela was the only Short Circus member to be retained throughout the entire run of The Electric Company. As such, Angela was the most prominent member of the group, and many viewers remember her the most and consider her the essence and heart of the Short Circus. She was awarded an Emmy of Honor for her work on the series. Angela lent her vocals to the Grammy Award-winning 1971 soundtrack album of The Electric Company as well. Angela said she named her Short Circus character Julie after her idol at the time, Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews

Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...

.

Later career

When The Electric Company wrapped production in April 1977, Angela found work in theater. She was nominated for both a Tony

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 and Drama Desk Award

Drama Desk Award

The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...

 as Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Shogun: The Musical

Shogun: The Musical

Shōgun: The Musical is a musical with a book and lyrics by John Driver and music by Paul Chihara.Based on James Clavell's 1976 epic novel and the 1980 television mini-series of the same name it spawned, it centers on shipwrecked English sea captain John Blackthorne, who finds himself drawn into a...

. Additional theater credits include Tuptim in The King and I

The King and I

The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...

and Tea, for which she won a Theater Guild Award for Best Lead Actress.

Angela has also appeared on television sporadically. Her credits include Step By Step, Mad TV

Mad TV

Mad TV may refer to:*MADtv, an American sketch comedy television series based on Mad magazine*Mad TV , a 1991 German television station management simulation game*MAD TV , a Greek music channel-See also:...

, The Wild Thornberrys

The Wild Thornberrys

The Wild Thornberrys is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon. It was rerun in the USA on Nickelodeon and occasionally The N until 2009 and Nicktoons until 2007...

, and Hannah Montana. TV movie credits include American Geisha and Message from Nam

Message from Nam

Message From Nam is a fiction novel, authored by Danielle Steel and published by Dell Publishing in October, 1990. The novel follows Paxton Andrews, a fictional character who is stationed in Vietnam as a journalist, focusing on the men she enounters and how her life and the lives of the people she...

. She also played Additional Voices in the Walt Disney Studios

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 dub of Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service

is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...

.

Angela's solo CD released on Original Cast Records features a full orchestra on songs from shows she has done, including a medley from The Electric Company, as well as several jazz numbers.

Angela was interviewed for the 2006 DVD release of The Best of The Electric Company. Angela was one of several Electric Company alumni (along with Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....

 and Children's Television Workshop

Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...

 founder Joan Ganz Cooney

Joan Ganz Cooney

Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...

) who shared their memories of working on the show.

Today, Angela has only fond memories of her youth spent on the set of The Electric Company:

External links